Dual Language Program (DL)

According to a report completed by the New American Economy, 

Over the past five years, the demand for bilingual workers in the United States has more than doubled.

Overview

Dual Language (DL) programs seek to offer students the opportunity to become bilingual, biliterate, and bicultural while improving their academic ability.  In the majority of dual language programs, the students receive half of their instruction in their primary or home language, and the remainder of their instruction in the target language, the language that they are learning. Students learn to speak, read, and write in two languages, and also learn about other cultures while developing strong self-esteem and diverse language skills. 

Our Program

We are very excited to be building our Dual Language program at the elementary level here at Brewster. With the shift in population over the past 10 years, we now have the ability to provide a program that supports bilingualism. Bilingualism is a 21st century skill that is much needed in today's world.  

Model: Converting one-way to two-way

Currently, we have a one-way model, which only includes native Spanish speakers, in grades 2-5. As we continue to grow our two-way program, which includes native Spanish speakers and native English speakers, we will convert from a one-way class into two-way zones.

Method of delivery: 50/50

50% of the instruction throughout the course of the year is delivered in English and 50% in Spanish. We currently have a weekly rotation between the two languages. This was chosen based on research and to support our current curriculum models. No content is re-taught as the languages change from week to week. Students will continue with the curriculum along side their English-only peers, but will just learn it in both languages. 

Please check back for future updates as we build our program!